Ian Tovar leads Nixon past rival Laredo Martin to clinch District 30-5A title

LAREDO, Texas — The Laredo Martin-Nixon boys basketball rivalry is the oldest of its kind in the Gateway City. 

On Tuesday, it marked the end of the UIL regular season, but the regular-season finale between these two rivals had a lot of implications beyond just bragging rights for a year.

The winner would be crowned the District 30-5A champion, while the loser would take the district's No. 2 seed into the Class 5A playoffs.

During their last home game of the year, the Mustangs made the most of their opportunities.

Thanks to a strong 3-point shooting performance and an airtight full-court press defense, Laredo Nixon pulled away during a dominant second half for a 66-47 win over Laredo Martin. 

The victory completes a season sweep against the Tigers and clinches the District 30-5A championship for the Mustangs in their first year of competing in 5A after moving down a classification. It also marks back-to-back district titles for Laredo Nixon, which finished last season as District 30-6A co-champions alongside Laredo United.

The Mustangs are known for their aerial attack from the 3-point line and Tuesday night was no exception, as Laredo Nixon connected on eight triples to account for more than a third of their total points.

Senior power forward Ian Tovar poured in a game-high 19 points and provided a steady presence offensively throughout the entire game. 

Sophomore point guard Mason Vela added 13 points, while junior point guard Julius Garcia also tallied 12 points to give the Mustangs a trio of scorers reaching double figures.

At the outset, it was Laredo Martin who came onto the court with the hot hand early. The Tigers spread the ball around and utilized all five players on each offensive trip up the court to help their scoring attack overcame a slow start.

Laredo Nixon struck first from the floor with Gilbert Parra from the 3 point line. Parra soon connected on a second 3-pointer late in the opening quarter, and then the Mustangs took an 8-4 lead on another quick bucket by Garcia.

Laredo Martin fought back with Rolando Martinez leading the charge offensively with back-to-back baskets, including a 3-pointer, to give the Tigers the lead at 9-8 with 3:14 left in the opening quarter. 

The Tigers started to build a multi-possession lead with sophomore point guard Jorge Martinez, junior center Andy Zamora, junior guard Christopher Dillard and senior forward AJ Valadez fueling a run during the waning moments of the period. They held a 20-15 lead by the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter belonged to the Mustangs, though, as they buckled down and raced out on a 16-4 run to retake a 31-24 lead. 

Tovar started to get hot from the perimeter along with Vela, Luis Anaya, Richard Garcia and Jose Escobar who accounted for all the points in the frame and help Laredo Nixon outscore Laredo Martin 20-6 during a pivotal 8-minute period.

Laredo Martin only managed a pair of baskets by Zamora and pair of free throws by Rolando Martinez. The Tigers were kept from the basket by the strong Laredo Nixon defense that did not give them too much breathing room.

Laredo Nixon’s signature full-court press also visibly shook up the Tigers, who had to work for every inch of space to bring the ball up the floor. Leaning on their defensive momentum, the Mustangs took a 35-26 lead into halftime.

The second half was all Nixon, as the Mustangs kept the pressure on both ends of the floor to lock up the No. 1 seed and the District 30-5A title.

Laredo Nixon (23-11) will open up the bi-district round of the 5A Texas high school boys basketball playoffs against the loser of Corpus Christi Flour Bluff (23-10) and Victoria West (10-16), who face off in a District 29-5A seeding tiebreaker game Friday night.

Laredo Martin (19-4) will face the winner of Friday's Flour Bluff-versus-Victoria West game in the bi-district round of the 5A UIL boys basketball playoffs at a to-be-determined time, date and location next week.

Check out SBLive's exclusive photo gallery from the game:

PHOTO GALLERY — LAREDO NIXON 66, LAREDO MARTIN 47

All photos by Clara Sandoval